Happy New Year folks.
My first rant of 2016 is on its way in this blog following a meal I had in an Italian restaurant called Zaza in Bushey last week.
I order Veal Milanese, it was ok but the accompanying spaghetti was undercooked so I left it on the side.
Normally I would have let it slide but the waitress asked ‘How was your meal?’ as she cleared the dishes.
I replied: “Not bad thank you but the spaghetti wasn’t cooked properly.”
She told me she would speak to the chef and let me know what he said. Then just like the Spirit of Christmas Past she vanished.
Another waitress came with the card machine for me to pay the bill. I explained to her what had happened and that the other waitress hadn’t come back to me with what the chef said.
Waitress 2 went away and came back saying that the chef said that’s the way he always cooks spaghetti. No apology, just a simple but unspoken ‘that’s the way it is, if you don’t like it tough.’
I must stress I wasn’t looking for compensation or a ‘freebie’ I was asked a question ‘How was your meal?’ and gave an honest reply. If I hadn’t been asked I wouldn’t have raised the issue.
The first waitress was simply paying lip service by asking the automated question. The second waitress did marginally better by at least seeking out the chef’s comments but her customer care ended abruptly when my debit card and receipt were handed back to me. 
I won’t be in any rush to eat there again as the food and the service weren’t great.
I’ve said before that a well handled complaint is a sales opportunity. In our monthly newsletter to our clients I’ve written about this subject.
A friend of mine told me a similar tale about what happened to him in a restaurant. He ordered a steak which came out not cooked the way he asked so he sent it back.
A minute later a smiling chef pops out of the kitchen and asks him exactly how he wants it.
The steak came back cooked to perfection and my friend said the best side dish was knowing he had been listened to and that the response from the restaurant staff was a genuine one.
He now regularly waxes lyrical about the place.
Customer care is an area I know my team at My News can improve on, everyone can, and that’s one of our resolutions for the coming year.
Thanks for reading and Happy New Year.
Nik
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